You may recall, back in 2005, that the tech world let out a massive _"Huh?_ when eBay acquired Skype for somewhere around $2.6 billion. eBay kept insisting there were synergies there, and lots of people tried to puzzle out what those might be. Calling people to discuss auctions? Auctions embedded in your phone? There was some vague talk about China, but it amounted to "lots of people use Skype in China," and didn't get much further than that. Just a couple years later, eBay was already writing off the supposed synergies and then gave up looking for the synergies altogether. Not so long ago, it spun the company out, and there were plans for an IPO. Just a few days ago, there were rumors that both Facebook and Google were considering buying Skype at around $3 or $4 billion. In both cases, you could make out some potential synergies. Facebook has become a huge communications platform, and adding more voice capabilities could be compelling. Google, obviously, has Google Voice and owns Skype-clone Gizmo. However, at the last minute, it appears that Microsoft swooped in and more than doubled the asking price, paying $8.5 billion. And, ... **LEADING THE DAY:** Microsoft has completed a deal to acquire Skype for about $8.5 billion, including debt, All Things Digital reported. The deal was formally announced Tuesday morning. The partnership gives Microsoft a way to compete with Google's Voice service and Apple's Facetime platform. Skype's internet telephone service will reportedly be integrated with Microsoft's Kinect gaming accessory and Windows Live. **Mobile privacy hearing:** Representatives from Apple and Google will speak about their policies on handling consumers' personal information before the Senate Judiciary's privacy subcommittee on Tuesday morning. The subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), will ask the companies for a clearer explanation of their privacy policies, particularly regarding location data and how personal information is shared with third parties. Read full article >> Telecoms analysts believe that Microsoft could be a happier home for Skype than Facebook, and could ratchet up the battle against Google Voice and Apple's Facetime on mobile devices and the desktop. They also warn, though, that with a rumoured pricetag of $8.5bn (£5bn), the deal is hardly cheap. ## Richard Edwards, principal analyst at Ovum With Apple FaceTime - a competitor to Skype - now available on the Mac, iPhone 4, iPad 2 and the new iPod touch, it is definitely now or never for Microsoft. There are other products and companies out there that offer a much better fit architecturally than Skype (and they come with a much cheaper price tag too), but Skype is undoubtedly the product Microsoft needs to stay in the game. Skype is arguably the most successful real-time social communication platform on the planet, and its $8bn price tag means that only companies such as Microsoft have any chance of acquiring it. But is it a good fit for Microsoft's business model? Answer: Yes. It's popular, it runs on Windows PCs, and later this year it will be available on Windows Phone 7. Perhaps more importantly for the rest ... Business experts question whether internet phone service Skype could be worth price after recording losses last year Microsoft is reported to have closed a $8.5bn (£5bn) deal for the internet phone service Skype, in a deal that has shocked analysts who think it would be a substantial overpayment for the company. The acquisition, which is expected to be announced on Tuesday, would be Microsoft's biggest, ahead the $6bn it paid for online advertising company aQuantive in 2007, and would bring it 660 million users worldwide while giving it a foothold in voice and video communications. Analysts suggested the service could be integrated into existing Microsoft products such as its Xbox 360 games console and Kinect gaming systems, or even into its flagship Office product to let users collaborate more effectively. Speculation has been rife in Silicon Valley for months about Skype's future. Rumours last week suggested Facebook, Google or Cisco Systems were interested in acquiring it to fold into their own services. Tony Bates, the chief executive hired from Cisco last year, has reportedly been exploring the idea of joint ventures or a sale to Google and Facebook. News of the deal and Microsoft's interest in Skype ... Microsoft turned the tables on long-time Skype wooers Google and Facebook to reportedly land an $8.5 billion deal to buy the popular Voice over Internet Protocol service. The following are some key facts about Skype:. There maybe many questions about Microsoft's decision to buy Skype, but one thing is for sure -- it can take video conferencing video calling to a whole different level, thanks to Kinect. If you watch these videos, you can easily imagine the future of video calls. Microsoft is close to finalizing a deal to buy Skype for between $7 billion to $8 billion. The Wall Street Journal confirmed the news after we had first reported the news yesterday. The deal is especially good for Microsoft's partners including Nokia and Facebook. Features expected in the next major Windows Phone update have been leaked online, pointing to advanced search tools and voice-guided navigation. Google and Sprint didn't exactly cover themselves in glory last week. The much hyped integration of Google Voice and Sprint fell flat on its face, embarrassing both companies and irritating an unknown number of users who simply couldn't make the two systems talk to each other. People familiar with Skype indicate that some kind of news is forthcoming later this week, perhaps as soon as Monday. It is also rumored that Microsoft is a late entrant and is said to be in talks with Skype, the Internet telephony company. Google has begun testing a new design for its search engine results page, one that sports a new color scheme and a lot more white space. A Googl… It's not really a surprise that we're beginning to hear more and more about "incubators." If you've been around the block as many times as I have, you may remember the sharp increase in such experiments about a decade ago. Skype is mulling a joint venture with Google and Facebook instead of an IPO, according to reports. - The popular Voice over Internet Protocol service Skype is eyeing a separate partnership that would bring its low-cost video chat and calling services to Google and the social networking site Facebook, according to a Reuters report. The decision is being considered after Skype decided to delay it... Google and Facebook have both had discussions with internet telephony pioneer Skype about a possible joint venture, according to a Reuters report. Additionally, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has had what Reuters calls "internal" discussions about the possibility of buying Skype outright. The Reuters report, which cites two anonymous sources, comes three months after Skype delayed its [...] Leap Wireless International declared mixed financial results for the first quarter of 2011. Craig Walker, who created Google Voice, has started Firespotter Labs, a company-creation lab backed by Google Ventures. Craig Walker, who created Google Voice, has started Firespotter Labs, a company-creation lab backed by Google Ventures. Google Voice has been integrated with Sprint, allowing the carrier's users to use their existing Sprint number as their Google Voice number or replace their existing Sprint number with their Google Voice number. - Google said Sprint switched on its integration of Google Voice, which will allow Sprint customers to use their existing Sprint number as their Google Voice number to ring any phones when people call their mobile phone. Users may also choose to replace their existing Sprint number with their mob... It looks as though Google may be testing a voice search feature for its desktop search homepage. According to blog Search Engine Roundtable, several users have begun seeing the oh-so-familiar microphone icon in the search box on google.com — we can confirm that we have seen it on our Google home page as well. The icon will look extremely familiar to those Android users out there, as voice search has been an operating system staple for nearly a year now. No word on when/if this feature will roll out to the masses. Read Android 2.3.4 is now being delivered to Nexus One handsets over the air, but the update won't bring video or voice chat to the Google Talk app as seen on the Nexus S.
Key Words: google voice
References:
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011
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